We know that budgets and pricing are sensitive topics. We like to be as open as possible about the service we provide though. For that reason, we’ve decided to make our pricing a little more transparent. We’re going to explain why we’re priced as we are.
To help set the scene and provide some context, the average spend on wedding photography in 2015 was £1520 (source)
That’s the average spend so obviously some people will have paid a bit more, whilst others will have spent less. Let’s work with the figure in mind that £1500 is around average then. That’s around what most professional photographers will cost and that’s around what most couples spend. So £1500 is what you can expect to pay for your average professional wedding photographer.
Not your average wedding photographers
We’d like to think that we aren’t your average photographers though. Our work is of a consistently high standard, we have years of experience under our belt and consequently our work has been recognised both nationally and globally. During the last few years we’ve collected several awards and had many high profile blog and print features. Most notably we’re two time winners at The Wedding industry awards, putting us amongst the 5 best wedding photographers in the UK. As a result, this is reflected in our pricing.
For the most part, the average spend on photography will also reflect the rates of one photographer. However, there are two of us.
Two experienced, professional wedding photographers
As the demand for photography teams increases there’s a growing trend of photographers adding a second shooter to packages. Often though, you’re not getting the real deal. The second shooter may just be someone’s boyfriend or wife who’s tagging along with a camera in hand. They may be a student, or someone who’s there in a learning context. A second shooter wont always be a full time, professional photographer in their own right. Sometimes, they wont be a photographer at all. Even if they are, working as a team takes some getting used to. It’s a skill in itself and it can be hard to shoot the same moments without getting in each others way. It can be hard to shoot the same scene differently enough to make having two photographers worthwhile.
With us, you get two full time, professional wedding photographers with over 250 weddings worth of experience shooting together. Our coverage is seamless and complimentary. We each have our own roles so we know that the other is doing, when. So whilst there will be cheaper teams out there, you may not be getting what you think you’re getting.
Being responsible and not taking on too much work: Excellent service as standard
We are also priced the way we are because we have quite a specific way of working. Unlike many photographers, we don’t try to get as many bookings through the door as possible. We actually cap the number of weddings we take on each year to around 30.
This allows us enough time and flexibility in our schedule to ensure that the service you receive is second to none. We want to be available throughout your planning to get to know you better, to offer advice or recommendations if you need them. Having a little extra time to really focus on the couples we work with makes a world of difference. It means we can offer a better service all round.
Our turn around time for photos is pretty good and we’re quite active on social media. Our blogs are always up to date and our response time to emails has been described as “ninja like”. It’s small, seemingly insignificant things like that which actually really enhance our clients experience. After all, who wants to be waiting 2 or 3 days at a time for a reply to a simple question?
We could take on more weddings, but this would inevitably result in longer wait times for photos or in correspondence, which we don’t want. For us it’s about delivering the whole package and not just great photos.
On every occasion where we’ve received bad service ourselves, we’ve always remarked that we’d have gladly paid a little more for a better service and we believe that most people are the same. It’s important to us and it’s important to our couples. We’ve built a solid reputation for providing excellent service. You can read some comments from past brides and grooms here.
In order to cover our operating costs with the relatively small number of weddings we shoot each year, our pricing has to sit a little higher than average- but in return, you’ll receive a service that’s anything but average.
Fully inclusive pricing- no up selling and no hidden costs
On a related note, our business model is also not based on up-selling. By this we mean that we do not rely on or push for sales after the point of booking to make up our income. Some photographers charge less upfront so it seems like you’re getting a better deal. In turn though, further down the line you may find that you need to pay for prints, extra photos or even for things like copies of your photos in high resolution. We don’t do that.
Our one off package fee includes everything you need for full and rounded coverage. We don’t cap how many photos you receive, how many photos we edit or anything of the sort. Our galleries include an unlimited number of photos with free downloads for you AND your loved ones. So whilst we may be a little more costly than some, with us you’ll never have to worry about hidden costs.
Supply and demand
Finally, one of the most significant reasons why we’re priced as we are is because of the demand for our services. That is probably the most cringe inducing, big headed sounding thing i’ll ever write, but it is one of the most important factors that dictates our pricing. We’re incredibly lucky to receive over 300 enquiries every year- without advertising at all. As mentioned above, we only take on around 30 of those. Some Saturdays in summer we could literally book 10 times over. Because of this we need to carefully manage our pricing so that we don’t become overwhelmed with enquiries. Ultimately, if we’re priced lower, we would fall within more people’s budgets and we’d attract more interest. Pricing ourselves a little above average means that we can keep interest in our services at a manageable level. It all comes back to service and maintaining our core values.
We’re aware of the fact that we aren’t the cheapest photographers available, so we try to be as flexible as possible when it comes to helping our clients pay for our services. As such we can accept payment by credit card or in instalments to help spread the cost.
We hope that’s helped to make our pricing a little more transparent, but if you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to get in touch hello@samandlouise.co.uk
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